5 Simple Acts of Kindness

By Fin Sheridan

The Scottish writer JM Barrie wrote “Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight: always to try to be a little kinder than is necessary?” Kindness is one of the most underrated qualities in the world and one that we’ve never needed more.

Social media feeds, newspapers and TV’s are filled with stories of chaos, division and bitterness. Good news doesn’t sell – at least, it doesn’t feel like it. And yet, we all long for a better way. We have a sense that this isn’t the way things are meant to be.

It can feel hard to fight back against the negativity. What can one person do? Well, maybe you can’t transform the entire world but you can make a positive dent in your world. Small, consistent acts of kindness can be infectious. They change you and they encourage others, not just the person you’re blessing.

Small, consistent acts of kindness can be infectious.

With that in mind, here’s 5 simple acts of kindness that you can do, every day, to transform your world.

Give up your seat: If you’re on public transport, it can be tempting to grab any seat and avoid eye contact every time it stops so that you aren’t obliged to give your seat up. Fight the temptation and be the first to offer when someone else needs a seat.

Open the doors: Make an effort to hold the door open, not just for yourself or your group. But grab it for someone else too.

Donate to a cause: Maybe you won’t do this every day but donating to a cause makes a really big impact. Here at CBN, we do humanitarian work all over the world. Why not consider partnering with us?

Go above and beyond… You probably have an allocation of chores/responsibilities/tasks to do. Whether you’re a parent, housemate or spouse, there’s a chance that you and your relationships split the tasks that need to be done. You do the bins, they do the cooking. Well, maybe this week, do more than your “fair share”. Go above and beyond.

Let someone else have the parking space. This one is so unusual that it’s guaranteed to make someone’s day. In the race for a parking space, let someone else have it instead.. Go on, why not?